I Can't Believe It!!!

[kevinbr100]

wow, i didnt know they swapped music, ill have to keep my ears out for it.

[Paulness]

Some of the Muppet Show episodes have skits missing due to this...

When Wayne's World was originally released on video the first few notes of Stairway To Heaven were removed from the guitar store scene for this reason... (have not seen it since, so I don't know if it has since been corrected).

My major complaint with this is that the packaging typically doesn't advise that the film/shows have been altered from the original broadcast/release.

[Samsang]

Originally Posted by kevinbr100

wow, i didnt know they swapped music, ill have to keep my ears out for it.

This problem is mostly found in productions from before the home video revolution in the 1980's. Back then there was NO revenue after a theatrical release, unless there was a re-release.

Then the film studios began to release films on Betamax and VHS videocassettes. At first, no one knew whether this would be profitable. (Of course, we all no the answer to that one NOW!) Once the profits started rolling in, everyone involved with the movies wanted a share -- actors, screenwriters, composers, you name it. Even performers whose music was licensed for the films. By the 1990's, most studios had hashed out contracts to include video release revenues into their contracts.

Then TV series started making money in DVD releases. Oh boy, here we go again! Later series' had forseen this. But as with the old movies, old TV series had trouble re-negotiating contracts. With music, it was easy enough to replace if the parties couldn't come to agreement. Sad but true.

I guess we'll have to put up with this in some modern-era films reeleased before home video. The good news is that all the older films now in the public domain (expired copyright protection) can be transferred to video exactly as they were made. The cloud is still there, but at least we can enjoy that bit of silver lining.